Friday, February 28, 2014

After over 25 years in business, Dots, an Ohio-based women’s fashion discount retailer, is closing its doors. Store-closing sales will begin on Friday, March 1, with discounts on all merchandise, as well as store furniture, fixtures and equipment. Dots filed for Chapter 11 protection on January 20, 2014.. . . more

Same-store sales and strong performance at new stores helped drive impressive net come and revenue growth at Sprouts Farmers Markets Inc. during the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2014. On a year-over-year basis, net earnings more than doubled to $9.3 million from $5.9 million in the quarter and almost tripled to $51.3 million from $19.5 million.. . . more

Gap Inc. on Thursday reported a 12.5% decline in fourth-quarter profit, with its results impacted by heavy discounting during the holidays. The retailer also issued a profit outlook for the full year that is below analysts' expectations, and said it will open 30 additional U.S. stores during fiscal year 2014.. . . more

Kohl’s Corp.’s reported disappointing fourth-quarter results amid markdowns during the holiday period and increased shipping costs for its e-commerce business.

The chain posted a profit of $334 million for the quarter ended Feb. 1, down from $378 million a year earlier. Total sales dropped 3.8% to about $6.1 billion from $6.34 billion. Same-store sales were down 2%. Kohl’s cited the impact of the 53rd week in fiscal 2012 as a driver of its declines.. . . more

Sears Holdings’ CEO Eddie Lampert strongly defended his company in his annual letter to shareholders, saying not only does he believe Sears is headed in the right direction, but that “the entire retail industry is headed to where we already are.”

The letter was released on Thursday, Feb. 27, the same day that the retailer released its fourth quarter and fiscal year results (link to am story). Sears lost $1.36 billion last year as sales continued to fall and it closed stores as part of its plan to transform itself into a “member-centric” retailer.. . . more

Of the many positive results Domino’s Pizza Inc. reported for its Dec. 29-ended fourth quarter and fiscal year 2013, the unit count growth at home and abroad signified the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based company’s best performance in years. . . more

Thursday, February 27, 2014

TJX Cos., the Framingham-based off-price retailer that operates such chains as T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods, said Wednesday that fourth-quarter net sales rose 1 percent to $7.8 billion while net income was $582 million. . . more

In a sign of some progress in its turnaround efforts, J.C. Penney Co. reported a net profit of $35 million for the fourth quarter ended Feb. 1, 2014, compared to a loss of $552 million a year ago. Excluding a tax benefit and other items, Penney had a loss of $206 million for the quarter.. . . more

Barnes & Noble swung from a net loss in the third quarter of fiscal 2013 to a net profit in the third quarter of fiscal 2014, even as revenues dropped.

Net earnings in the third quarter totaled $63.2 million, compared to a $3.7 million net loss in the same period a year earlier. Total revenues dropped 10.3% to $1.99 billion from $2.22 billion. A 50% revenue drop in the company’s Nook segment helped drive the overall decline, although all the company’s retail and college verticals also reported revenue drops.. . . more

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Target Corp. will be feeling the financial pain for a while from the theft of credit card numbers and other information from millions of its customers.

The retailer said Wednesday that its fourth-quarter profit slumped 46 percent. It also reported that revenue slipped 5.3 percent as the breach scared off customers.

During the holiday shopping season, personal data from millions of Target customers was stolen by hackers who targeted credit card terminals in its stores. The incident has scared shoppers away, and the company says its profits will be affected well into 2014.. . . more

Macy's Inc.'s fourth-quarter profit increased 11%, but the chain’s sales missed forecasts as ongoing winter storms caused a sales slump in January. The company also announced plans for new Macy’s stores in Sarasota, Fla.; Las Vegas; and The Bronx, N.Y., in fiscal 2014. A new Bloomingdale’s will open in Palo Alto, Calif., to replace an older store in the same shopping center.. . . more

Tim Hortons is unveiling a strategic four-year growth plan for 2014-2018 called “Winning in the New Era.” The plan, which has specific segments for the Canada, U.S., and international markets, includes the opening of 300 new U.S. locations by 2018.. . . more

When the paths of an Estonian immigrant, a small Greek restaurant, and a successful restaurateur looking for the next big idea in fast-casual dining crossed, the result was an upstart brand, Little Greek Restaurant, that now has plans to expand across the U.S. . . more

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

More than a decade after Spag’s closed on Shrewsbury’s Route 9, the store's 14-acre property could be the new home for retail, housing and office space.

Grossman Development Group, a Southborough-based builder, has met with Shrewsbury officials to discuss rezoning of the commercial district and razing the Spag’s property to create a new mixed-use project.. . . more

Another new owner? You can’t blame employees at the J. Jill chain if they’re a little worried — or at least fatigued — by the news that the Quincy-based company could be changing hands. Again.

The Wall Street Journal just reported that the women’s apparel retailer is in the process of hiring investment banks to run a sales process. I reached out to executives at the chain's Batterymarch Park headquarters on Friday to ask about the news, but didn’t hear back. . . . more

Home improvement retailer Lowe’s is scheduled to release its Q4 earnings results on February 26. Compared to the previous quarters in 2013, the performance of the housing market was a bit disappointing in the fourth quarter so Lowe’s may report only slightly higher year-over-year quarterly sales. On an annual basis, we expect the company to fall a bit short of its growth targets which were revised upwards at the end of Q3.

Lowe’s looks to have positioned itself well for higher demand for homes and home-related products. Its total sales rose by about 7.3% year-over-year in Q3 2013 and we expect sales to be higher on a year-over-year basis in the fourth quarter as well even though the increase in percentage terms may be moderate. In addition, the company’s gross margins in the previous quarter rose by 26 basis points from Q3 2012, primarily due to a favorable 52 basis point impact from its Value Improvement initiative. It was offset to some extent by an unfavorable impact from its credit value proposition program. We expect a further improvement in gross margins in the fourth quarter. . . . more

On Jan. 2, Roanoke, Va.-based Advance Auto Parts announced the completion of its acquisition of General Parts International, a privately held distributor and supplier under the Carquest and Worldpac brands. The all-cash transaction had been announced in October, with an estimated value of $2.04 billion.

The company immediately claimed a new superlative.

“Collectively, the acquisition of General Parts positions Advance as the largest automotive parts provider in North America,” Advance CEO and Director Darren R. Jackson said in a Feb. 6 conference call discussing 2013 financial results.

In a news release, Advance said the operations add up to annual sales of $9.2 billion and more than 70,000 team members. . . more

Swedish budget fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz said on Monday its sales rose 15 percent in January, in line with a forecast which the company provided in its fourth quarter report.Source: H&MAnalysts in a Reuters poll had also predicted the firm, which competes with its bigger rival Zara-owner Inditex , would post a 15 percent increase in total sales. H&M said in its quarterly report on Jan. 30 that it expected January sales to rise 15 percent.

There are a number of rock ballads that could score the soundtrack of the ongoing saga of the takeover battle between Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank: The Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me”; Motley Crue’s “You’re All I Need”; and, now, after Men’s Wearhouse newest push to acquire its competitor, Cheap Trick’s “I Want You To Want Me.” That is, after all, the underlying message Men’s Wearhouse sent to Jos. A. Bank Monday morning by upping the price of a proposed takeover bid for its rival.

Men’s Wearhouse is now willing to pay $63.50 per share for the fellow men’s suit retailer, up from $57.50 per share previously, and even said it could go as high as $65 per share, a figure that would mark an 18% increase over Jos. A. Bank’s last closing price of $55.05. . . . more

Monday, February 24, 2014

Watching Q4 retail sales roll in this year was less than impressive, to say the least, and January wasn’t any better. “It’s the weather”, everyone says [see our top story in National News below]. Of course, living in New England this winter has been a tough row to hoe, and Mother Nature has been even tougher on other regions of the country that are unaccustomed to seeing so much of the white stuff. There’s no question that bad weather affects shopping frequency, which in turn impacts retail sales.. . . more

Friday, February 21, 2014

Even accounting for Wednesday’s closures, Sbarro has more than 800 units
worldwide, including 81 that opened in 2013. According to Nation’s
Restaurant News’ Top 100
report, Sbarro had 417 company-owned locations and 174 franchised units
in the United States at the close of its 2012 fiscal year.. . . more

Sales for Valentine’s Day this year fell prior to the holiday
compared to the same period in 2013, but rose on the actual holiday
itself, Feb. 14. According to new figures from site analytics provider
RetailNext, men’s stores (that have gifts for men) saw decreased
(-13.8%) sales the day before Valentine’s, but an increase of +22.2% in
sales on Valentine's Day itself in 2014.

Meanwhile, women's stores (that have gifts for women) saw decreased
(-13.5%) sales the day before Valentine’s, but an increase of +15.2% in
sales on Valentine's Day itself in 2014. For all retailers examined, the
three days before Valentine’s Day saw a -7.4% decrease in sales and
-6.7% decline in traffic on average when compared to Feb. 11-13 in 2013.. . . more

Holiday markdowns and costs associated with growing its Nordstrom
Rack outlet brand and planned entry into Canada had a negative impact on
net earnings at Nordstrom Inc. during fourth quarter 2013. Fourth
quarter net earnings slipped 6% compared to the same quarter the prior
year, to $268 million from $284 million.

Net earnings for the full fiscal year remained almost flat, slightly
rising to $735 million from $734 million. Both earnings figures fell
short of Wall Street expectations.. . . more

Gap’s decision this week to raise the hourly wages of workers at its
stores nationwide puts pressure on other major U.S. retailers to do the
same.

Following Gap’s announcement that it will set the minimum
wage for workers at $9 an hour this year and $10 an hour in 2015, big
store chains from Wal-Mart to Sears said Thursday that they will
continue to evaluate their wages.. . . more

Amazon.com Inc.
is in talks to bring listings for J. Crew khakis, Ralph Lauren
polo shirts and Lord & Taylor suits to its site, according to people
familiar with the talks.

The
discussions, which seek to win over retailers that have largely shunned
the online marketplace, involve about 10 well-known retailers, these
people said, including
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. and Neiman Marcus Group Inc.. . . more

As if the executives at the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority didn’t have enough to worry about.

With days to go before a make-or-break vote in Revere on Mohegan
Sun’s casino plan for Suffolk Downs, Mohegan's landlord in Palmer is
pursuing a breach-of-contract suit against the casino operator in
Hampden Superior Court. The landlord, Northeast Realty Associates LLC,
claims that Mohegan Sun violated the terms of its lease by pursuing this
plan in Revere after voters in Palmer narrowly rejected a Mohegan Sun
casino there.. . . more

Thursday, February 20, 2014

With his latest divestiture, the sale of Pershing Square’s remaining 28 million shares of General Growth Properties back to the regional mall REIT for $556 million, it looks like Bill Ackman may be completely done with anything having to do with retail.

Midway through 2013, the hedge fund tycoon admitted
that his investments in retail chains—including J.C. Penney, Borders
and Target, among others—haven’t exactly panned out the way he’d hoped. Now he is explaining away the sale of GGP shares by claiming that the expected returns on the REIT’s stock would be too low after management fees were taken out.. . . more

Reports on retail leasing in the fourth quarter
of 2013 paint a picture of conflicting trends in the sector. Analysts
identified modest gains in occupancies and rents, but tempered them with
troubling hints of potential long-term difficulties.

Analyses
from both Reis Inc., a New York City-based research firm, and CoStar
Group, a Washington, D.C.-based research firm, found declines in
vacancies at retail centers. According to CoStar, vacancy on a national
basis dropped to an average of 6.7 percent from the fourth quarter of
2012 to the fourth quarter of 2013. That’s the lowest rate since 2008.. . . more